Simple As the Sea
by emmathecharming
Summary: Emma agrees to babysit her little brother so her parents can have a night out. But she ends up in over her head when she arrives at the loft to find sick and screaming Neal and an exhausted Mary Margaret. Emma tries everything to calm her brother down, with no success. Desperate for some help, she calls Killian. She then discovers that her pirate has some secret skills.


Emma was seriously regretting her choices. She had agreed to babysit for her parents before her mother had decided to let her know that baby Neal was sick. Emma was nervous enough about being left alone with an infant without said child being sick and tired.

She had thought about trying to get out of it somehow after her mother had finally shared the details of why she so badly wanted a night out. But she went over to the loft anyway and as soon as her mother opened the door, Emma knew that the night was not going to be fun. Her mother looked as if she hadn't slept at all the night before and she was clearly starting to go a little stir crazy after being cooped up in the loft all day. Emma could hear her brother's cries quite clearly and hoped that they were only the product of his being left on his own while Mary Margaret answered the door. That hope didn't last long as Mary Margaret rushed back to the crib and picked him up, the cries only getting louder.

"Well as you can see, he's a bit fussy." Mary Margaret was clearly in a hurry to get out of the loft. She was rushing around gathering her things and speaking very quickly as she continued her little speech. "But I'm sure you two will be ok. I'm meeting David at the station and we're going to go get dinner. I don't know if we'll do anything else but I'm sure we won't be too late. Oh, I guess you'll need to feed Neal. You know where his food is right?" Emma barely managed a nod before her mother began firing instructions again.

"His medicine is next to the sink. I've marked how much to give him, he'll just need it once before bed. Oh and try to put him to bed around 7 since he'll probably have some trouble settling down."

Before Emma could say anything in response, Mary Margaret had pushed Neal into her arms and she was running out the door with only a short "Bye, Emma!" yelled over her shoulder as the door slammed shut behind her.

"So I guess it's just me and you tonight kid." Emma sighed, answered only by the loudest scream she'd ever heard from someone so little.

It had been an hour and Emma now understood very well her mother's need to get away from the loft. Neal had not stopped crying and screaming even for a second and he had refused to eat a bite, instead choosing to throw and spit his food all over the small table in the kitchen.

Emma knew she couldn't do this by herself for much longer; she needed just a few minutes away from the noise and the tears. She didn't know who to call though. The only person in town besides her parents who had any experience caring for an infant was Regina and there was no way Emma was calling her for help. _Killian!_ He may not be able to help with Neal but at least he could provide some sound besides the screams that her brother offered and maybe that would be enough to help Emma hold on to her sanity.

She opened her phone app to the favorites list and called Killian. She shifted her weight while she waited trying to hold Neal so that she could bounce him to try and sooth his cries, the phone ringing and ringing. _The stupid pirate kept forgetting how to answer a call_. Finally he answered and she all but yelled at him, her patience long gone.

"Killian! Where are you?"

"No hello, love?" Neal once again moved on from crying to screaming at the top of his lungs. "What is going on there Emma? Are you alright?"

"I'm ok, well I'm not hurt or anything. That's just Neal. He's sick and my mother guilted me into watching him while her and David went to dinner."

"Look Killian, I'm going insane her by myself. Could you maybe come down to the loft? I just need some company. Please?" Her voice was full of the desperation she felt.

"Of course, love. I'll be there soon." He hardly sounded excited about what he had agreed to do, but he was coming and that was all that mattered right now.

Emma spent the next fifteen minutes as she waited for him bouncing up and down, shifting Neal into every possible position desperate to find the one that would finally help to calm him down.

Finally, just as she was about to reach the end of her rope, she heard Killian outside and an immense relief washed over her. But she knew that she needed more than just a little company, she needed a little quiet. She didn't even wait for Killian to get inside the door before she reached for her coat, needing more than anything to get outside where it was quiet.

Killian stepped through the door and Emma immediately moved towards him handing Neal to him.

"I just need a minute alone. I need quiet. I'll be right back."

Killian stared at her as she practically ran out the door, a blank expression on his face. This was clearly not what he had expected when he'd agreed to come help her. Emma hoped he would be ok, because there was no way she was going back in the loft without spending a few moments alone outside.

She walked slowly down the stairs and out the door. It was starting to grow cold outside now, especially now that the sun had gone down for the night, but it was still far more comfortable out in the cold than inside with her screaming brother.

Emma racked her brain for anything that could help her feel at all sane. She didn't want to go back, but she could hardly leave Killian alone until her parents returned. She just needed something to make the next hour or so a little more bearable. _Coffee, that was what she needed_. She headed towards Granny's and hoped that Killian wouldn't be too upset with her for being gone so long.

She walked to Granny's and got a large coffee and headed back to the loft. As she walked up the stairs, she braced herself for the screams that would greet her once she walked back through the door. But as she stood outside preparing to open the door, she heard nothing coming from the other side. Worried that something had happened or that Killian had left with Neal for some reason, she quickly opened the door and stepped inside. What she saw next stopped her in her tracks.

Not only were Killian and Neal both still there, but Neal had finally stopped crying. Killian held Neal up against his chest and as Killian turned to face Emma, she could see that not only had he finally quieted, but Neal was almost asleep in Killian's arms. Emma was shocked. She didn't think he'd ever had any experience with infants, yet he clearly knew what he was doing because he had succeeded where she had failed all night.

"How did you do that?" she whispered. "I tried everything but he would not stop screaming."

"It's actually quite simple. I just-"

"Simple? Please do share your secret because at this point I'm wondering if I'm not the only one with magic."

"My secret, as you say, is far from magical, love. Like I said, it's really quite simple. Just think of the sea."

"The sea? I don't get it. How does that help?" Emma was not in the mood for jokes. She was tired and she wanted to know what he did in case she ever found herself in this situation again.

"Well I've learned over my life that the feeling of the waves is very soothing for most people. I just did my best to recreate that feeling for the little prince. I guess it did the trick."

Emma could not believe what she was hearing. _How could it have been that simple? And how did he figure that out, Captain Hook of all people?_

"I guess it did. Thank you Killian. And sorry about the whole running out the door and leaving you alone with him thing. I just..."

"You needed some quiet. I understand and I can hardly say I blame you. The lad has a quite a set of lungs for someone so little."

Emma let out a small, half-hearted laugh. "You can say that again." Emma paused a moment and then spoke again. "So what do you think the chances are he'll stay asleep if you put him down?"

"The lad seems safely asleep by now. I think we'll be alright."

Emma followed Killian over to the crib as he laid Neal down for the night. They both stood there for a moment watching him to make sure he didn't wake. _Her brother was a lot cuter when he wasn't screaming and crying._

"What do say we go watch a little Netflix while we wait for my parents?"

"I'd like that. You never did show me just what it is. But are you sure I should stay? What will your parents think?"

"I couldn't care less what they think. So yes, I think it's ok for you to stay. Let's go see what I can find to introduce to 21st century entertainment."

They had been settled in front of the television for not even 20 minutes when David and Mary Margaret finally came home. Despite the fact that Emma had been longing for their return for most of the evening, she was disappointed when they finally walked in. She had convinced Killian to watch Peter Pan with her, dying to see his reaction to his cartoon counterpart. It had taken some persuading on her part but he had finally agreed and now her parents had come before Captain Hook ever made it on screen.

Emma jumped up from the couch once she saw her parents in the doorway, feeling a lot like a teenager who had been caught with a boy. Her parents were a little surprised to see Killian relaxing there with Emma but they quickly forgot their surprise when they realized that the loft was no longer filled with the sounds of Neal's screams.

"How did you finally get him to calm down enough to sleep, Emma?" Mary Margaret asked hesitantly.

"I didn't. That was all Killian's doing actually."

"Killian did it?" David responded, Emma's response evidently not what he had expected to hear.

"Aye" Killian said, speaking for himself now. "Like I told Emma, it's rather simple. I've always found the motion of the sea soothing and it would seem the little prince does too. I just mimicked the motion of the waves and he finally quieted."

"Oh well thank you then, Killian." It seemed that Mary Margaret was still a little unsure how to respond to the situation, even as her thankfulness for the quiet won out against her apprehension about Killian being there. David left now to go and check on the still sleeping Neal

"You're quite welcome. I imagine you'd like to get some rest yourself so I'll just show myself out."

"Just hang on one second and I'll go with you."

"As you wish, Swan." He stopped right inside the doorway to wait for her to say her goodbyes.

"Thank you, Emma." Mary Margaret said as her daughter turned back to her.

"Don't thank me. I was drowning. Killian was the one that actually helped Neal."

"Well than thank you for calling him. You'll tell him thank you for me?"

"Sure, mom. I'll see you later ok. I'm exhausted. I don't know how you do it full-time."

"You do it because you love your child. I'm sure you'll understand someday. But you better go now."

"We'll have to see about that. Bye , mom."

"Goodbye Emma."

Emma turned and followed Killian out of the loft. They remained silent until they got outside and went to leave in opposite directions.

"Thank you Killian." He stopped and turned back to her. "I really don't know what I would've done without your help tonight. And mom said to tell her thank you from her too" She rocked on her heels a little, nervous for some reason.

"I'm always willing to help, no matter the cause of your distress."

Instead of a thank you, Emma took two steps forward, closing the distance between them, and placed a kiss on his lips. He returned the kiss, his hand finding its way to her hair while his hook rested against the small of her back. Her arms wrapped around him in return. But Emma broke the kiss far too quickly for his taste, both of them breathless as they took a step back.

"Goodnight Killian." Emma turned and walked away from him, but not before he spotted the large smile forming on her face causing a matching one to make its way to his own expression.

"Night, love" he said to her back before turning to make his way back to his room at Granny's.


End file.
